Daily Patterns
True or False: The moon is only visible at night?
False, you can sometimes see the moon in the daytime!
How long is a year?
365.25 days or the length of time it takes to orbit all the way around the sun
True or false: Gravity is a pushing force
False, Gravity pulls us down to earth!
Why can't we see stars besides the sun in the daytime?
Because the sun is so bright the light overwhelms the light of other stars.
How long does it take for the earth to spin around on its axis one time?
Bonus: Which direction does it spin?
24 hours or 1 day
Bonus: Counterclockwise
When can we see a constellation most clearly? (think position of the earth)
We see a constellation most clearly when the earth is directly in between the sun and the constellation
Which way is down?
Down it towards the ground!
Why does the sun appear so much brighter than other stars?
Its so bright because its WAY closer to Earth!
What is the cause of the daily pattern of when we see the sun and the stars?
The spin or rotation of the earth on its axis
Can we always see all of the constellations? Why or why not? Can you give an example of when Orion would be visible?
No! We can't see all the constellation all of the time because the Earth orbits around the sun and at certain times of year the Sun blocks certain constellations from view. Orion is visible in the winter, its most clear in December!
Does gravity pull on all objects or just on people? How could we prove this?
It is pulling on everything down towards the ground! We could prove this by dropping an object and seeing if it falls onto the ground!
Which direction does the sun rise? Which direction does it set?
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West!
Is it daytime for all of the earth at the same time? Why or why not?
No it is not! Half of the earth it is daytime because they are facing the sun and the other half is facing away from the sun so it is nighttime! As the Earth rotate on its Axis part of the earth changes from daytime to nighttime.
What causes the yearly pattern of when we see different constellations? How do you know?
It is caused by the orbit of the earth around the sun, as the earth moves around the sun different constellations are visible to us! I know this because of our investigation in the sim, or our mount nose model that we created in class, or in a book that we read.
On the other side of the world if you dropped a rock would it fall up since they are on the bottom of the world? How do you know?
Gravity pulls you (and rocks) down to the ground no matter where you are in the world! We know this because of the book that we read but also because of the video we watched of people dropping rocks all over the world.
How does the size of something appear change as it moves farther away?
It looks like it gets smaller as it moves farther away